21 DIY Christmas Decorations

Did you know that the original Christmas decorations to hang on the tree were actually apples? We’re not suggesting you use these as your DIY Christmas decorations of course, but if you are looking for a way to decorate your house on a budget this year, we have a few idea that you might want to take a peek at.

21 DIY Christmas Decorations

1 – Glitter Christmas Candles

Do you have old food jars lying around your kitchen? A few old jam jars perhaps? Maybe some old coffee jars? Well, you could create these brilliant DIY Christmas decorations with them. They’re super easy once you know how.

You affix your stencil or cut-out over the jar – that’s where the light from the candle inside will shine through. Cover the entire jar in glue, then dip in glitter, and cover with spray gloss if you want to prevent it from going all over the place. You could put regular tea light candles in there (carefully), or you could even use battery-operated flameless candles instead. This is one the kids could definitely help out with!

2 – DIY Christmas Window Decorations

What do you feel about DIY Christmas decorations like this? It’s a very simple idea, and you could use your old Christmas wreathe if you wanted to upcycle this year. You straighten it out, or use a festive garland wrapped around a metal or wooden pole, and use glue gun or something similar to keep it in place.

Add the big bow on the front in the middle, and then use ribbon (white like you can see here, or coloured if you’d prefer), and tie Christmas baubles at the end of them. Cut the ribbon to different lengths so that they hang at different levels, and you have a super easy decoration idea that can be customised in a whole host of ways. You could even add mini disco balls to the end instead of Christmas baubles – perfect for that big festive bash!

3 – Mini Christmas Quote Tree

You know all those old bits of word you keep shouting at your hubby to get rid of out in the back yard? Well, rather than keep shouting at him to sort the problem out, use them. With a bit of time and dedication, you could have something as cute as this to adorn your home this festive season.

Cut the pieces of wood you have to different lengths. They increase in size from top to bottom here, much like the shape of a traditional Christmas tree, but you could cut yours however you liked.

Sand them down so there are no sharp edges, and use tacks or wood glue to piece them together like you can see here. You can hand-paint those beautiful festive words, or you could print out decals. You could even use stencils to recreate the look – there are definitely plenty to pick from if you start shopping around online. Add the star to the top, and make sure it doesn’t fall over and you have one of the cutest DIY Christmas decorations we’ve ever seen. You could recreate this for a whole host of events too – birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine’s day, you name it! You could even use them as regular every-day home decor items. Rustic and shabby chic is so very on-trend right now.

4 – Twig Decorated Candle Holders

When you next take the dog out for a walk, or head into the woods with the kids so they can find conkers, pick up a few twigs as you go. Why? Because you can use those twigs and branches you find in your DIY Christmas decorations. These little candle holders are super cute, and they’re really easy to make too. Even the kids can join in.

You can glue the sticks to any old straight-edge candle jar / holder you have, and you could even do the same thing with old food jars too. You could add glitter if you wanted to, paint the sticks, add a bow, rope, raffia … There are so many ways you could decorate these cute candle holders.

5 – DIY ‘Countdown to Christmas’ Clock

For when a simple advent calendar just isn’t enough, how about this DIY ‘Countdown to Christmas’ clock? You can teach the kids about all the various traditions of the festive season day by day, and help out their counting skills at the same time.

It’s very simple a white piece of wood, although you could make child-friendly ones with cardboard if you’re looking for rainy day activities, and it’s been cut into a circle. A snowman face has been painted in the centre, and the numbers have been painted around the outside – 1 – 24 for all the exciting days in the countdown to Christmas.

6 – DIY Merry Christmas Garland

What do you need for this adorable DIY Christmas garland? Well, some pieces of card, some miniature pegs, and rope. And a little bit of imagination obviously. Perhaps you could employ a little child labour to get the job done? 😉

Source: Vicky Barone / Click for more details

You can buy alphabet embellishments if you don’t like the sound of cutting out individual letters from pieces of card, and you could switch up the colours to match your interior decor too. Go nuts with the paint and glitter and you may just be surprised at what you could knock up!

Just click on the image to be taken to the full tutorial.

7 – Simply Painted Wood

Do you remember those old pieces of wood we spoke about? The stuff you keep badgering your hubby / boyfriend / partner to clean up from the back yard or shed? Well, here’s another clever little use for them – another of the DIY Christmas decorations that’s both easy and simple.

Source: Etsy / Click for more details

If you’re feeling creative, this is a great way to let those creative juices flow. Grab your paintbrush and go a little crazy on the larger pieces of wood, basically using them as your blank canvas.

To make life easier, you could even ‘finish’ the wood first – sand it down, prime it, and then paint it white. Sand it down a little once the paint has dried and you’ll still get some of that wood grain peeking through – the perfect backdrop for a festive scene, don’t you think?

8 – Last Minute Festive Candles

When everyone decides to turn up at your house at the same time, and you realise you have no Christmas decorations out yet to impress them with, use this as a great last-minute idea!

You’ll need a glass or mirror-style plate, three wine glasses (of varying sizes if you liked), a few Christmas baubles, and candles for on top. Or flameless candles. No one need ever know that wasn’t the plan in the first place, and when cleverly placed in the centre of your table, make for perfect festive decorations.

9 – Santa Themed Cutlery Cloaks

Speaking of dinner tables, what do you think about these cute DIY Christmas decorations? It’s a clever way of using old pieces of card, folding them, using adhesive to keep it in place, and then decorating to look like Santa … or anything else festively-themed for that matter.

Another great one to get the kids involved with, they’re simple, effective, and definitely cute. You could keep this in a memory box and bring them out to embarrass the kids when they’re older and bring their first girlfriend or boyfriend home!

10 – DIY Christmas Candle Holders

Did you know that the first Christmas card was commissioned in 1843, and it was designed by John Callcott Horsley, a British illustrator? It was commissioned by Sir Henry Cole. The Christmas themed postage stamp didn’t come until a few years later though – 1962. That all started in America.

Christmas fun fact out the way, how cute is this candle holder? Another way of using up all those old glass food jars that you can’t bring yourself to throw out because you think you “might need them someday”, you could paint them in a wide range of colours and shades, and you could mix up the designs on them too.

Print and cut out a bell-shaped design, and then glue that to the front of your jar. You will paint around this. Once the red (or whatever shade you’re using) paint has dried, peel the stencil away, and go around the outside of the shape with a gold paintbrush / pen. Add the ‘Joy’ in the centre, either with a decal or embellishment, and then finish it off with a cute Christmas tag, tied with rope in a bow.

11 – DIY Fairy Lights Christmas Star

Another great idea for using up all those leftover wood bits everyone seems to have, why not affix them together with tacks into the shape of a star, and then add some fairy lights?

If you get outdoor lights, these would make for great outdoor DIY Christmas decorations, and you could make a whole bunch of different sized ones too. Why not make a big feature out of these on the front of your house? It certainly makes a difference from the regular Christmas lights you’d buy, right?

12 – Christmas Picture Frame Wreath

Do you have any old photo frames hanging around? What about in your grandparents attic? They always seem to have those big, chunky, vintage-looking frames hanging around, and with a bit of sanding, some gloss spray paint, and a few Christmas extras, you too could create this beautiful festive piece.

Source: Etsy / Click for more details

If you have old baubles that you no longer use, rather than throwing them away, create these little beauties. You could create a number of different designs, with a whole range of colours, and once again it’ll be a great one for the kids to get their teeth into.

13 – Christmas Greenery Candle Holders

Remember when we told you to go walking with the dogs and collecting twigs? Well, don’t forget about your greenery sprigs – these make for perfect DIY Christmas decorations.

You could leave these their natural and beautiful green shade, or you could spray them in festive tones of gold and silver, which we also think would look amazing. Glue them to the side of an old food jar, or an old candle jar, light the candle inside and you have something that’ll really help to set the mood come Christmas.

14 – DIY Christmas Snowmen

Are you a dab hand with a saw? If you’re not, bride your hubby to give you a hand with this one – DIY snowmen made with old trunks of wood.

They’re super adorable, actually quite easy to make when you think about it, and all the neighbours will ask where you got them from!

15 – Joy DIY Wreath

Rather than throw away that old and now-barren Christmas wreath, strip it down and give it a new lease of life, adding letters to create that Christmas ‘joy’.

Source: Etsy / Click for more details

We love the way these letters have been spray painted white, and they make a great contrast against that rich brown wreath. Add as much or as little as you like to this, but definitely get creative. And then come back and show us your fabulous designs … obviously.

16 – Twigs + Branches Mini Christmas Tree

Even the smaller twigs and branches you find on your woodland walks can be used in your DIY Christmas decorations. If rustic is your thing, these are great, and again, can be left natural or spray painted / finished to match whatever kind of look you could want.

These would look really cute with small outdoor fairy lights around them, leading the way for Santa to find his way into your house. We wouldn’t want to take them down in January, that’s for sure!

17 – Last Minute DIY Christmas Decorations

And for those last minute moments when you have nothing else to hand but people coming over, and definitely no time to head to the shops for decorations as well as preparing dinner … These are such a great idea, don’t you think?

Throw some baubles into those big glass vases you never get around to using because no one actually buys you flowers, and add some fairy lights to bring it all to life. Add those extras you find on your woodland walk and what do you have? Super awesome DIY Christmas decorations that come together to make a great display, that’s what!

18 – Glitter Painted Leaves

We love everything about the seasons changing, particularly kicking the leaves around in Autumn. Therefore we love these autumn-themed DIY Christmas decorations, simple, pretty, and sparkly. So … basically everything we want our Christmas decorations to be then?

Imagine hanging these little delights over your Christmas tree, or having glitter-painted leaves in amongst your other festive displays! If you think yours could do with a little jazz-up, these might just be the perfect finishing touch.

19 – Button Christmas Wreath

If, like us, you have a tub filled with buttons that you’re probably never going to need to use, why not find use for them? You could make a framework out of old pieces of wood, or use a black canvas which can be picked up fairly cheaply. Spread some burlap / hessian material over it, and secure in place with a staple gun. Then it’s just a case of adding those buttons, and you could either glue those on, or sew them on, depending on how much time you want to dedicate to the cause.

We love the way has been designed in a Christmas-wreath style, that bow at the top being the perfect finishing touch. This would be something great you could make with the kids to give to the grandparents on the big day. They love all that stuff, don’t they?

20 – Glitter Christmas Display

And for when you have hundreds of Christmas baubles even though you’re not entirely sure where you accumulated them from, how about this cool little festive display?

It’s a box style frame, and the backing has been removed and replaced with hat super glittery and sparkly backing paper. You could even glue your own glitter onto the backing card – it’s entirely up to you how you decorate it. Fill it with the baubles, seal it all up, and then add that festive quote on the front. Again, you could hand-paint this, or cheat with decals … our preference obviously.

21 – Stag Silhouette Festive Candle Holder

And last, but certainly not least, another rustic and beautiful candle holder. We love the way that this one has the stag silhouette rather than a Christmas themed-design, and that scuffed-up, vintage style really suits us for right now.

You could go crazy with colours on this candle holder, or keep things simple like you can see here. You could also consider putting things inside the jar before securing your candle in there. Coffee beans will give off a great scent, for example, or you could use fruits and berries. You could even throw nuts in there to really get with the festive theme.

And there you have them – 21 DIY Christmas decorations that are both super simple and super awesome. Many of them will keep the kids nice and occupied when you’re busy furiously wrapping presents, and most of them can even be given as gifts, giving you a double whammy. Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together?

We hope we’ve given you plenty of inspiration, but we can’t wait to see what you lovely lot come up with. Tag us in your festive designs – #CherryCherryBeauty – on social media. We want to feature you and you work on the site!

If you need more Christmas in your life, why not have a peek at these little beauties while you’re here: